


Free

by Marsalias



Series: Dannymay 2020 [18]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst Free, Gen, No Angst, no really, nothing bad happens, unless you count monopoly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:22:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24467161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marsalias/pseuds/Marsalias
Summary: A wholesome family game night.
Series: Dannymay 2020 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727281
Comments: 15
Kudos: 306





	Free

Danny tipped his head back and cackled. With a flourish, he gripped the body of the dog, and bounced it all the way to the space labeled 'free parking.' Having settled the piece, he edged the paper money out from beneath it.

"Ugh," said Jazz. "Why do we even _use_ that house rule?"

"Yeah," said Ellie from across the table, eyes narrowed. "It doesn't make sense. Why would landing on free parking give you free money?"

"It's like a windfall," said Danny. "Like you won the lottery or something."

"But that's on the chance cards," objected Ellie. "You don't need a house rule for that."

"No, no," said Dan, "you're both wrong. You've never heard the story of the parking attendant."

Briefly, Danny wondered if he should cut Dan off before he recounted something gruesome, but shook his head. The weekly 'family game night' and Dan's temporary release from the thermos were contingent on his good behavior, which included not scaring Ellie for life. Besides, if he did decide to misbehave, Clockwork would take care of it.

Instead, Danny ostentatiously counted his winnings.

Jazz glared at him.

"You see," said Dan, "once there was this parking lot, and in the parking lot, there was a parking attendant. People paid the attendant a fee to park in the lot, and he kept an eye on their cars. One day, after years, he stopped showing up. The people who parked there called the police, and they called the company who owned the lot, but it turned out there was no parking attendant. The lot was a free lot. Free parking."

Ellie's eyebrows furrowed. "So he was a ghost."

"No," said Dan, "he was a con artist. He _pretended_ to be the attendant, and took people's money."

"But he showed up every day and looked after their cars?"

"Yeah, so?"

Ellie frowned at Dan across the table. "That doesn't sound like much of a con."

Dan sighed, his hair wavering with the motion, and picked up the dice. "That isn't why you have the house rule, though."

"Then why?" asked Ellie.

"It's because Danny here," Dan smiled wickedly, and Danny felt his blood run cold, "knows how to roll the dice to get the number he wants to come up every time." Dan rolled the dice and sighed again. "Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the knack."

Ellie turned to Danny as Jazz's eyes got progressively wider. Danny knew she was sorting through every time she'd lost a board game to Danny because he'd gotten 'lucky' with the dice.

"Can you even do that?" asked Ellie.

"Well," said Danny, "does it really _matter_ if I can or can't?"

"Children," said Clockwork.

"You little cheater!" yelled Jazz, springing from her seat and across the table. This was literal, as gravity in the Ghost Zone was more of a suggestion than a hard fact.

"Hey, no, time out!" said Danny, also jumping up. "You're supposed to be the responsible one! Stop! Clockwork! Time out! Help! I wasn't cheating! It's a skill! A skill!"

Dan chortled and, now that Jazz was no longer guarding it, started sneaking money from the 'bank.'

"Are you supposed to do that?" asked Ellie.

"Why not?" asked Dan. "That's how the cheese head got his first million."

"I think that's enough for today," said Clockwork. He tapped his staff on the ground sending the half ghosts, ghost, and human back to where they had been before he had summoned them. Next week, he would select something less competitive, and preferably without any dice.


End file.
